The Bathtub Murder of Kendy Howard | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] I was in my car was pretty late in the night there was a mail over the phone
screaming at i11 but boy she shot himself oh my God right when I pull into the driveway the front door opens over
here come on and a man walks out of the house screaming crying yelling oh my God just overall kind of
freaking out it was a gunshot I was downstairs TB going okay well where she at upstairs in
the bathroom they found Kendy upstairs in a bathroom with the tub full of water Sor
what's your first name Dan Dan [Music] Kandi was just so funny and nice we just clicked and never stopped
clicking Dan and KY were great neighbors we all became friends you know being neighbors small town everybody you
know barbecues and hanging out together she wanted to just love life and she loved
life she's in the bathtub and she was in that tub of water with a gunshot wound to her head and the gun
was still in the water of the bathtub did something strike you about that scene certainly we have broken
glass here we have some of her clothing on the opposite side of the bed thrown on the floor we have wet towels behind
the door are you asking yourself that means what from the beginnings it looks odd Dan Howard worked as a idah state
police Trooper Dan knows things that most normal people Ordinary People don't know
things like what things like killing someone and staging it to look like a suicide Dan thought he was smarter than
everybody else smart enough to trick everybody and in the end that's what he did I don't know what I'm supposed to do
I'm so lost and confused because Dan's not arrested I really did think that he would get away with it
[Music] [Music] what's going on Sir they have to do their job this is their scene
now send it medical cutney County Sheriff's deputy Miranda Thomas will never forget coming
face to face with a distraught Dan Howard a former state trooper at his home in northern Idaho on a cold
Winter's morning in February 2021 no damn it oh my God he would scream and yell but there were no tears in his eyes
at any point he would act like he was gagging but nothing would ever actually happen Deputy Thomas was one of the
First Responders to dance home a place he shared with his wife of 26 years kendi
Dan I know this is hard but when when is the last time that you saw your wife alive Dan do you want medical to look at
you at all no okay Dan Howard told police he discovered his wife in the bathtub he said she had shot herself in
the head Candy's own pistol was at the bottom of the tub in murky water secure the scene don't touch anything
okay cutney County Sheriff's detective Jerry Northrup when you look at arrived before
midnight were you dispatched to a possible suicide yes sir it was identified as a
suicide Northrup immediately began analyzing what was before him sir for a woman to shoot herself in the tub nude
is unusual it doesn't mean it can't happen it just means that it's unusual Northrup a crime scene expert says
something was missing from this death scene especially considering kendi had suffered a head wound there would be a
lot more blood that was produced and I just didn't see that on her face on her body or in the tub Deputy Thomas also
saw some curious things I went into the house and found a packed duffel bag was someone planning on leaving the house
in the laundry room the dryer was running full of clean bath towels and mats having a dryer running at midnight
very odd cuz I don't do laundry at midnight sure you could but and despite the shock of finding his
wife dead Dan Howard appeared to have recently showered changed his clothes and applied fresh deodorant and you can
tell that he's got deodorant lines on his T-shirt it's something seem un suicid likee to you certainly there was no um
other signs of like a suicide note it's often standard procedure to check people at a shooting scene for GSR
gunshot residue and as a former state trooper Dan Howard would know that yet detective Northrup says Howard was
uneasy about being tested Mr Howard stuck his hands into his coat pockets and then he began began twisting him to
and fro back and forth repeatedly until we told him to stop and remove his hands
back and forth as if he's trying to wipe something off yes that was the impression that we were getting what was
the result it was negative it was negative even though detectives were suspicious of all those little pieces of
evidence that didn't seem to add up they could not rule out the possibility that
kendi could have taken her own life Kandi's sudden passing stunn those who loved her she loved
life I have never had so much fun with somebody no care in the world Michelle Lampert was one of kend's best friends
that's kendi kneeboarding with Michelle in northern Idaho she always laughed my favorite is
spin class and then to the Bur nothing like spin class and bur but she felt like that was okay she was a great mom
Brook Wilkins is kend's daughter from an earlier relationship tell me about your
mom she just seems really special she was she had a big personality she was happy to talk to anyone and make a
friend and um choke around Candi was a small town girl from northern Idaho sporty and outdoorsy says her brother
Brian she rode her horse a lot had sheep for 4 and well she had a goat too at the
same time Kandi was just 22 when she married the former Marine turned Idaho state trooper Dan Howard he was 6 years
older did she talk about the attraction she did think he was very handsome and I
think the sense of security is a topic that was brought up quite a bit Dan and kendi settled on 10 acres in
the town of athel just a spec on the map 21 Mi north of cording they had a son together Wyatt like his
dad he became a marine a neighbor Carrie maitlin says dan and kend's marriage seem strong they
were affectionate towards each other and they were generally respectful to each other Kandi worked at a local medical
center during 26 years of marriage they made good money in real estate in this fast growing state by the time of kend's
death the couple had more than $2 million in assets and yet money created friction between them her money was his
money and his money was his money he never wanted to spend money and there was more friction in the
marriage according to friends after Dan working as a trooper for the Idaho state
police shot and killed a woman during a traffic stop Dan was cleared of all wrongdoing but the incident took its
toll on Ken I do believe she did become depressed years later Dan would leave the state
police and things kind of changed between them candi's brother Brian helped Dan find work on the North Slope
the oil fields of Alaska he'd work 3 weeks straight and then come home for 3 weeks and she was free for 3 weeks is
when she really decided to experience life Brian says the couple grew apart there
was arguing bickering pretty much the whole time I'd be up there around them but I didn't think it was anything but
Brook says it was the beginning of the end of their relationship Candi was frustrated and lonely she's very vocal
that she does not love him that there's no love in this marriage Michelle says kendi had an affair and even planned
plastic surgery she was just super excited and that's when Kendy told Dan she was
moving out and wanted a divorce and she had started the process of buying a new house and I think she really felt that
it would be okay by the end of January 2021 just days before her death Kendy met with a divorce lawyer when Dan came
home from work she just told him I mean she just told him everything and I think that
point I did get scared she said he was fine he wasn't fine no Dam it [Music] [Music]
it never made sense to me it never made sense when First Responders examine Kendy Howard's body
in her bathtub she had a gunshot wound to the back of her mouth and her pistol was in the water Dan Howard told
everyone that Kendy had taken her own life were you buying that no I couldn't see her leaving her kids and
granddaughter when he learned his sister was dead Brian rushed over to her house
he walked right up to Dan there was no emotion he wasn't crying I asked him if he'd ever hurt my sister and he wouldn't
look me in the eye and he said no ki's friend Michelle was also certain Kendy had not taken her own life Kandy was not
depressed you don't think about doing plastic surgery you don't go work out you don't go to spin
class but Carrie maitlin kend's neighbor says Kendy had been deeply unhappy months earlier she says Kandi
told her about problems in her marriage she's just crying and crying and crying and and she's like I don't even deserve
to be here Carrie doesn't think there's any mystery about what happened in that bathroom I do believe that KY committed
suicide in the hours following kend's death detective Jerry Northrup said he had
questions about Dan Howard's version of events there's a an order to things and a logical order it did not make sense
one thing that didn't make sense that night was the cloth dryer running when First Responders entered the house there
were still 6 minutes showing on the display so northrip did some then I went to the manufacturer site pulled up the
specifics about the times for cycles and then took that information and compared
that against the time at which the 911 call was placed I need you to take a deep breath
for me so we can get people headed to you and what do you learn that it was started within a minute of the 911 call
did your son shot himself oh my why it suggested that he was doing actions like starting laundry and rather than
his claim that he was checking on Kendy Howard and and that he was inconsolable and upset it just it didn't add up and
there were other red flags for detective northr did you find any signs of a struggle that there had been some sort
of a physical confrontation between these two yes we did up in the master bedroom we noted on the
floor that there were pieces of broken glass and there was that question of the amount of blood in the bathtub with a a
wound to the head that water would be much darker red colored right from the blood yes sir based on my experience
that would be consistent that the the fact that there wasn't was inconsistent inconsistent suggesting it might not be
a suicide correct everything started directing us to the path that this was a staged crime
scene nothing about this case felt right from the beginning detective Sergeant Ken Laton now retired was the lead
investigator so what happened tonight marable problems she wants to divorce one day she doesn't the next so she
brought home divorce papers just PL once we just grew apart I guess Lattin says he quickly became convinced
Dan was playing them I had the sense that Dan had a story that he had planned to share with
us that evening it felt very contrived almost scripted in a way Absolut yeah definitely
[Music] scripted one example Lattin says was Dan Howard telling him that kendi had once
put a gun to her head she put to her head freaked me out and uh I thought for sure here we go and drop the gun shot
through the floor same gun same gun Lattin says Howard told him that after a heated argument that night over
splitting their finances Kendy went upstairs to take a bath a short time later Howard heard what he described as
a thud sound like something hit the floor or something no but he didn't investigate for more than an hour that's
when Howard says he found her dead in the tub how many times have you ever described a gunshot as a thud I don't
think I've ever described a gunshot as a thud I certainly would not expect someone who served in the Marine Corps
served approximately 20 years in law enforcement someone who was a Firearms instructor someone who had been on their
SWAT team I think if anybody's going to know what the sound of a gunshot is from inside a
residence it's going to be Dan Howard as the morning came Dan called his stepdaughter Brook and told her the
news no it didn't go well even though you can't hear her Lattin says he could hear Brooke shouting at Dan what what
are you talking about who was that d she just accuse you of this just what it sounded like why would
she do that why would you think you did this I haven't heard somebody that angry
in a long time I'll be honest with you I was not expecting anyone I was across room and I could hear her oh I
know she's angry kids don't want to believe their L not one time have I ever been to a
suicide or even heard of one where one of the family members call and accuse her stepdad of murdering her mom it was
a very powerful moment and I literally was able to see Dan Howard almost physically shrink down
like the walls are closing in oh 100% man why is your da and think you killed your
wife what evidence sticks out to to you from the scene of kendi Howard's death see more evidence from the case at 48
hours.com in the early morning of February 3rd 2021 Dan Howard's Behavior continued raising the suspicions of
cutney County detectives what what are you talking about they had just overheard that phone call from his
stepdaughter Brooke accusing him of killing her mother I'm hysterical I'm crying pretty hard and you're believing
that no way she shot herself right I tell him that don't know what happened but I know you did
this cuz I got to tell you that phone call put chills down my spine detective Sergeant Ken Lattin confronted Dan about
Brook's accusation you did it didn't you no I didn't I didn't think so but now after listen
that think you did didn't how the hell how the hell she doesn't know she wasn't here within minutes Dan Howard stopped
responding to questions detectives were now very suspicious because as an ex cop Howard
had special skills Dan knows things that most normal people Ordinary People don't
things like what things like killing someone and staging it to look like a suicide but there wasn't enough physical
evidence at the scene to arrest him what's more later that day an autopsy was done and the medical examiner
concluded kendi had died from that gunshot kend's daughter Brooke was perplexed she says her mother never took
her gun out of the safe Mom never touched guns she wouldn't have used a Gun there's something not making sense
here and I'm so lost and confused because you know Dan's not arrested what Brooke didn't know was that the
investigation was zeroing in on Dan Howard just hours after kend's death cutney County Prosecuting Attorney Stan
mortensson was called in to consult with detectives they pieced together a detailed timeline of the couple's
relationship what did you learn about Dan Howard so we learned that Dan Howard was not the person that we thought he
was at home and behind closed doors he was a different person investigators focused in on an alarming incident Dan
was involved in from 2013 when he was still a State Trooper Dan had found out Kendy was having an affair with a
neighbor who also happened to be Dan's good friend enraged Dan confronted him at his office he threatened to uh I
believe his words were splatter his brain all over the walls threatened to kill him threatened to kill him Dan
Howard was accused of repeatedly harassing the neighbor and eventually pleaded guilty to two felonies and
served almost 4 months in jail in connection with that incident he was allowed to resign from the Idaho state
police after that kend's friend Michelle says the couple's relationship seemed to
change she was stuck to him like glue just like Like Glue like hanging all over him and she was never that way
before I think backo was she scared in the years that followed Michelle says dan was controlling and quick to anger
especially when it came to kend's spending Dan never wanted to go do anything CU that would spend money I
just don't think she was her full personality when he was around but when Dan was about to head back to Alaska for
work she was totally different person I think she realized the more she was free
the more she loved life and she didn't have to be under his thumb they continued to grow apart then Kenny told
Michelle about an explosive argument just 7 months before her death she had hidden credit cards and he found the
bills and that started that argument he grabbed her and held her and there was bruises on her neck and
her she set me pictures you could see them Claire's day in the pictures she just told me not to tell
anybody candy never reported any kind of abuse from Dan to authorities how long had this physical abuse been going on do
you have a sense we we really don't know it had been going on at least 6 months before she died then just four nights
before Kendy Howard's death deputies were called to the Howard home kend's mother had asked for a
welfare check after hearing a panicked Candi on the phone Sheriff's Office a visibly nervous Candi answered the door
you mind if we talk to you guys really quick sounds fine all right hours earlier candy had picked Dan up at the
airport coming home from the oil fields of Alaska and apparently upset him by saying she wanted a
divorce Kandi tells a deputy she needs to get something from the bedroom and so I can go yeah do you mind I follow you
that let the deputy speak with kendi away from Dan start he just come that take going
to do okay I can't say what he was going to do it ever become physical I think I had woke up in time
so it wouldn't okay when you woke up where was he was he yelling was he arguing like a
okay so he's all is's kind of just that calm that's what's weird okay all right I know what I se I know what he was
going to do Kendy is this your bag as well no that's his okay the deputy helped Kendy
leave the house but investigators would later say they couldn't arrest Dan because Kendy never told deputies Dan
had physically harmed her Deputy prosecuting attorney Julia schoffstall later learned that candy had told
friends what had happened she wakes up in the early morning hours to Dan um standing over her wearing dark clothes
black latex gloves a pillow in his hand the look in his eyes it was a look that she had never seen before and that she
wholeheartedly believed in that moment that he was going to kill her but later that day Kendy returned
home she told friends and family that he wasn't stupid enough to try something again that she felt like she had some
level of safety what's the tragedy in this case to you the biggest tragedy of all but she was so close to getting
out in text messages to Kendy Dan Howard said it was all a misunderstanding and he was willing to work things out but
there were other signs he wasn't okay the day before kend's death her brother Brian took a long road trip with Dan
he started asking me about who Kendy was having an affair with and Brian says dan
figured out kendi was seen the real estate agent who was helping her buy that new house near her
hometown you could tell he was mad the next day kendi was dead to prosecutors the circumstantial evidence
against Dan was adding up after reviewing kend's autopsy and photos taking of Kendy body investigators
discovered that in fact kendi had multiple bruises all over her body her body was riddled from head to toe with
bruises and some lacerations and her jaw had been broken I believe that Candi was
beat severely by Dan so what really happened that night the theory that Kandi's death scene could have been
staged began to take on a new light she's in the bathtub Kendy did not die from a gunshot wound wait wait wait
stop she was shot I understand in the mouth the bullet lodged in her vertebrae and it didn't kill her exactly we
believe that kendi was already dead when she was shot I think Dan always had a level of
control over kendi and I think by February 2nd he had realized that that control was gone weeks into the
investigation prosecutors believed the circumstantial evidence showed kendi died at the hands of Dan Howard but with
the medical examiners ruling that kendi had died from a gunshot wound and no DNA
evidence linking Dan to kend's gun prosecutors faced challenges so they called in other experts to take a second
look at the evidence including forensic pathologist Dr Jennifer Nara I looked at
the aof report I reviewed all the photos all the x-rays the toxicology results I
did not agree with the original cause of death that she died from a gunot went of
the head Dr Nara walked us through her analysis I looked at what the TR was the path the bullet took inside kend's mouth
I thought that was unusual because it was going in a slightly downward Direction typically gunot W suicides
they go either straight back through the mouth or go slowly upward and can you demonstrate the path of this bullet I
sure can so I have a skull model here and if you don't mind helping me out and then I'm going to take this Rod to show
the direction that the bullet traveled through the mouth through the tongue and it tore through the tongue Like a
Torpedo it just went straight through the center of the tongue would there have been a lot of
blood absolutely it's going to bleed like crazy cuz the heart is beating at the time that the bullet went through
that tongue exactly but when Dr Nora reviewed the photos of the crime scene she says she didn't see the amount of
blood she would have expected to there was not enough blood and there were those bruises on
kend's body and her broken jaw which Dr nor says were sustained before kendi had
died injuries that that suggested a physical struggle of some sort correct she's got bruises throughout her body
she's got bruising on both sides of her neck which is consistent with her being possibly choked what did you
conclude I believe that keny Howard was already dead when she sustained that gunshot
wound so she was already strangled or choked to death and when she was placed in the bathtu she was already dead so
then how did kendi die prosecutors say Dan Howard used a restraining technique he learned back in his days as a state
trooper we believe that he utilized a technique known as a kateed restraint show me how it works so what you would
do is you'd place your arm around somebody's neck and head and their chin is going to be in the crook of your
elbow prior to becoming an attorney prosecutor Stan mortensson had been a sheriff's deputy and like Dan Howard had
been trained in administering the cored restraint hold rarely used as it cuts off blood flow to the brain if it's
applied too long it can cause death and that right there was our Theory and how Dan killed
kendi it's an interesting Theory but you do concede it is a theory right no witness came forward to say that Dan
told me he did this or there's no physical evidence that proves that he did this right not the corate shin
technique correct but Dan knew how to use this technique and taught other people how to use it so we weren't just
grabbing this Theory out of thin erir this was something that Dan actually knew it took two years for the
prosecutors to build their case finally in April 2023 Dan Howard was charged with murder he was also charged with
domestic battery from that incident 7 months before Kendy death when she took those photos of her bruises and sent
them to her friend Michelle he pleaded not guilty and posted bail Howard was ordered to wear an ankle monitor while
he awaited trial all right in March 2024 a clean shaven Dan Howard went on trial the judge ruled
that any mention of Dan's previous criminal history or or his 2011 killing of a woman during a traffic stop was
forbidden it will turn out to opening statements in his opening statement prosecutor Stan mortensson said Dan and
Kendy Howard had fought over finances that night and it turned physical with Dan bruising kendi breaking her jaw then
killing her with the cored restraint hold then he said Dan Howard staged the scene by placing kend's body in the
bathtub and shooting her ladies and gentlemen the evidence will come in and will demonstrate that this was not a
suicide evidence will show that Kendy died of assciation evidence will show that Dan
Howard is guilty of murder Mr Johnson Dan's lawyer Jason Johnson countered the state's claims by asserting that an
emotionally troubled kend Howard had shot herself she is struggling with whether she wants to
leave Dan He pointed out that Dan's DNA was not even on kend's gun the gun had kend's blood on it but Dan is excluded
and he dismissed the state's assertion there was a physical fight that night Kenny did not have any DNA under her
fingernails there were no defensive marks on [Music] Dan Johnson also said the investigators
were all wrong about the lack of blood at the scene pointing out that several hours had passed before some of the
crime scen photographs of the bathtub had been taken and some of the water could have drained how much blood went
down that drain Johnson attacked the prosecution's claim that kendi was dead from
asphixiation before she was shot by calling that medical examiner who performed kend's original autopsy you
cause of death is gunshot wound that's my opinion more than a week into the proceedings the trial recessed for a
long weekend break that night prosecutors learned of a new dramatic development that seemed to be right out
of a television crime show it seemed Dan Howard was making a run for it what do you think of the
prosecution's theory of how Kendy Howard died chat now with the 48 Hours team on
Facebook and x with his trial winding down Dan Howard who was out on Bale with an ankle
monitor suddenly took off this was The Great Escape he was hoping to get away he did it right after
we finished with all of our evidence a deputy was tracking Howard that night you know this is I90 going 70 mph he
abruptly took an exit and then got back on the highway you know looking in his rearview mirror is somebody following me
about an hour later Howard made it to the Spokane International Airport but he's right there at the airportal right
there at the airport terminal Dan was uh taken out of the car he was put in the handcuffs Howard claimed he had gone
there to help a friend return a rental car not to make a run for it and I think it's possible that he was going to cut
the ankle monitor off leave it in his car and then drive away in another rental car instead Howard's Drive was a
short one back to a jail cell in cordal Lane Idaho his bail was revoked days later the prosecution made closing
arguments ladies and gentlemen the state has shown you this was not suicide because a dead person cannot shoot
themselves in the mouth the jury was not told about Howard's escape attempt Dan Howard's defense attorney
insisted that Candi took her own life the scene is consistent with suicide and that Howard did not have the
skills to Stage a murder scene there's no evidence that he worked as a detective no evidence that he had any
sort of calide training uh no evidence of the knowledge of stage in a scene have you in fact reached the
verdict after 10 days of trial 62 Witnesses and just over 8 hours of deliberations the jury reached a verdict
is a defendant Daniel Howard guilty or not guilty of second degree murder guilty I
cried there was I think I gasped that there was crying and and did you look it down
I'm looking at him and as he turns there's just there's no expression there's no look of
remorse Dan had shown no emotion but 2 months later at his sentencing he begged the judge for
leniency I love my wife and I miss her and I'm not that mon I assure you that uh people are betray me to
be keny and I had uh 28 years together and uh raise a family and had mostly a good marriage and a good
life I'm not that ter but they TR it is not my intention to anger the court or disrespect the
process that I used to believe in but your honor is about s in this man prison thank you Mr but the judge wasn't
moved what we know beyond A Reasonable Doubt is that you strangled your wife you murdered her and then you staged her
naked body in the bathtub shot her through the mouth and tried to pass us off as a suicide you killed a
mother you killed a grandmother you killed a sister you snuffed that out because of your own Pride greed and
anger Pride greed and anger said the judge but others kept coming back to the word control to me this case was about a
man who thought that he could control a woman and if he couldn't get his way he was going to force
it all right I cried it's such a relief that people got to hear what actually [Music]
happened um Kenley Wilkins and um ky's granddaughter and what do you have in front of you here uh chickens Brook's
daughter Kenley was just eight when her beloved Grand mother was murdered now 12 she Treasures these
glass chickens that her grandma collected do you feel a connection to your grandmother when you when you see
these yeah she had a China Hut yeah a China Hut it was just full of chicken so I'd always just trying to like like look
how many different colors there were pretty cool Grandma you loved her didn't you what's the hardest thing for you
probably her smile it's tough isn't it I want Justice for Kandy what I hope they get from the story that you don't
have to live like this I wish I could have stopped it I'm still shocked that we're still
talking about domestic violence and [Music] that sometimes you can't do anything
[Music] [Music] CBS next Saturday he's not breathing a surgeon's girlfriend found dead provided
those drugs was this a case of a controlling doctor's depravity this was not just some simple accident this was
much more a new 48 Hours next Saturday at 109 Central on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus

Did a former Idaho state trooper use his law enforcement skills to stage his wife's death in their bathtub? "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV. (Aired Sept. 28, 2024)

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Kendy Howard's suspicious death leads to her husband Dan's murder trial, revealing domestic violence and evidence of a staged crime scene.

Key points

The Night of the Incident. A chaotic scene unfolds as Kendy is found dead in the bathtub.
The Final Days. Kendy's plans for divorce and a new life come to light just days before her death.
Suspicion Arises. Detectives begin to question Dan Howard's version of events surrounding Kendy's death.
The Accusation. Brooke confronts Dan, accusing him of murdering her mother, raising tensions.
Unraveling the Truth. Investigators piece together Dan's troubling past and his relationship with Kendy.
Dan Howard Charged with Murder. In April 2023, Dan Howard was charged with murder and domestic battery related to Kendy's death.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Oh my God, just overall kind of freaking out!

Witnessing the chaos after the gunshot.

0:36WatchOct 3, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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